The Chicago Fire has finalized a deal to sign Hristo Stoichkov for a reported signing fee of $400,000. To obtain Stoichkov, Chicago acquired an allocation via trade with San Jose. San Jose received an allocation to replace Eddie Lewis, who was transferred earlier today to Fulham of the English First Division. San Jose then traded that allocation to Chicago for the Fire’s 2002 first-round draft pick and two No. 2 picks in the 2001 MLS draft. He will arrive in Chicaho March 20. Born February 8, 1966 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the 34-year-old Stoichkov was named European Player of the Year in 1994 after leading Bulgaria to fourth place at the ’94 World Cup. Stoichkov also was a big part of the 1998 Bulgarian World Cup squad in France. He had starred in Europe, notably for Spanish club Barcelona under the legendary Johan Cruyff. He has 84 caps and 37 goals for Bulgaria. After playing for Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol last season, he went into retirement, working in a management capacity for the Bulgarian national team. “We are very excited to bring Hristo to Chicago,” said Fire Head Coach Bob Bradley. “His career speaks for itself. But beyond all the numbers and medals and trophies is a player that has always had a tremendous desire and determination to win games. He has always won at every level and every team he has been with, and he does whatever it takes to take his team to victory.” National Team Career: Has 84 caps and 37 goals for the Bulgarian National Team…His 37 goals rank second all-time for Bulgaria’s National Team, only 10 behind leader Hristo Bonev with 47…Voted Best Bulgarian Player of the Year five times (1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994)…Leading scorer of the Bronze Medal-winning Bulgarian National Team in World Cup USA ’94…Named Best Bulgarian Athlete of the Year in 1994…Won the Golden Ball for the Best Player in Europe in 1994…Made his international debut in September 23, 1987. Club Career: Has played in 121 matches in the Bulgarian Premier League, all with CSKA Sofia, recording 82 goals…Has scored over 100 goals for Barcelona…Named Top Scorer of the Bulgarian Championship twice in 1989 (23 goals) and 1990 (38 goals)…Holds the record for Top Scorer of the Bulgarian Championship for one season with 38 goals…Has 25 goals in Europe Cup matches…Has 16 goals in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup…Netted seven goals in 20 appearances at the Bulgarian National Cup…Played in 18 matches of the Red Army Cup scoring 14 goals…Appeared in 40 matches of the Spanish Cup, netting 20 goals…Scored five goals in eight matches of the Spanish SuperCup…Scored in all three Euro ’96 games…Has won a domestic title every year since 1989…1998-99: Played with CSKA Sofia and Kashiwa Royal…Played in 16 games the second half of the 1998 season, scoring eight goals…Played in nine games in the spring of 1999, scoring three goals…1997-98: Played with Barcelona and was loaned to Al Nasr for two months…Scored his only goal for Al Nasr in the Asian Cup Winners Cup…Al Nasar won the title…Contract with Barcelona was terminated 3/13/98…Played with CSKA Sofia in four games, scoring two goals…1996-97: Barcelona paid $3.3 million to Parma for Stoichkov…Appeared in 22 matches, netting seven goals…Barcelona won the Spanish SuperCup, the Spanish King’s Cup and the European Cup…1995-96: Parma (Italy) paid $15 million dollars for Stoichkov…Appeared in 23 matches, recording five goals…1994-95: Made 27 appearances for Barcelona, scoring nine goals…Led Barcelona to Spanish SuperCup, and Spanish Championship…1993-94: Appeared in 34 matches for Barcelona, scoring 16 goals and leading the team to the Spanish Championship…1992-93: Made 34 appearances for Barcelona, netting 20 goals…Barcelona wins Spanish Championship and Spanish SuperCup…1991-92: Appeared in 32 matches for Barcelona, tallying 17 goals…Led Barcelona to Spanish SuperCup, Spanish Championship, European SuperCup and European Champions Cup…1990-91: Becomes Bulgaria’s most expensive player when Barcelona pays $4.5 million for him…Plays in 24 matches, recording 14 goals…Helps Barcelona win Spanish SuperCup…1989-90: Becomes Bulgaria’s all-time leading scorer in the Bulgarian Championship, recording 38 goals…Appears in 30 matches for CSKA Sofia…CSKA Sofia named Champion of Bulgaria and winner of the Soviet Army Cup…1988-89: Played in 26 matches for CSKA Sofia, scoring 23 goals…CSKA Sofia named Champion of Bulgaria, Bulgarian National Cup and Soviet Army Cup Holder…1987-88: Made 27 appearances for CSKA Sofia, recording 14 goals…CSKA Sofia wins Bulgarian National Cup…1986-87: Played in 25 matches for CSKA Sofia, netting six goals…CSKA Sofia named Champion of Bulgaria and Bulgarian National Cup and Soviet Army Cup Holder…1984-85: Played in 11 matches for CSKA Sofia…CSKA Sofia named Champion of Bulgaria, Bulgarian National Cup and Soviet Army Cup Holder. Honors: Bulgarian Championship: 1987, 1989, 1990…Bulgarian Cup: 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989…Leading scorer of Bulgarian League: 1988/89 (23 goals), 1989/90 (38 goals)… Bulgarian Player of the Year: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994…European of the Year: 1994…Spanish Championship: 1990/91, 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, 1997/98…Spanish Cup: 1996/97, 1997/98…European Cup: 1992…European SuperCup: 1992, 1997…European Cup Winners’ Cup: 1997…Leading scorer of World Cup (with Salenko, Russia): 1994 – 6 goals…Asian Cup-Winners Cup: 1998